


Changing Constellations

by everyoneinspaceisgay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Character, Canonical Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Deaf Character, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Happy Ending, Hindu Character, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Jewish Character, M/M, MWPP, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Multi, Muslim Character, Native American Character(s), Non-binary character, Other, PTSD, Polyamory, Romani Character, Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, Trans!Sirius, Transphobia, Underage Drinking, canon divergent post hogwarts, deadnaming is avoided as much as physically possible, deaf!Alice, desi!james, romani!Remus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-05-04 04:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14584803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everyoneinspaceisgay/pseuds/everyoneinspaceisgay
Summary: Trans!Sirius. Starts in September 1971 and follows the Marauders and friends through school. I diverge from canon after they leave Hogwarts.Updates Sundays at midday (GMT).





	1. Chapter 1

Remus sat down in the first empty compartment he could find, carefully storing his belongings under the seat. He wasn’t sure whether this was really happening; the past few weeks had passed like a bizarre dream. Looking out the window at the platform below he caught the grey eyes of one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. Which was even weirder than the whole magical boarding school thing to be honest, since he had literally never been distracted by thinking that a girl was pretty before. By the time his brain had processed his confusion, the girl was nowhere to be seen. 

He allowed himself to become lost in his thoughts again as his mind travelled back to the events earlier in the month that had lead to him being sat on this train travelling away from his mother and the only life he had ever known. He was interrupted from his reverie as an energetic, tousle-haired boy burst into his compartment, laughing loudly. Upon noticing Remus, the boy stuck out his hand.

“James Potter. Nice to meet you. First year?”

“Uh, yes?” answered Remus cautiously. Was it really that obvious that he didn’t fit in?

“Me too!” grinned the boy, and he flopped down on the seat opposite to Remus before peering at him curiously. Remus felt his cheeks flush and braced himself for a comment on the scars that crossed his face, or his homemade clothes. 

“Are you Asian?” the boy continued, “Only, you look like you could be but you’re really pale and I don’t know any other Asian wizarding families except for us and the Patils. Unless you’re muggleborn? That would be so cool! I’ve always wanted to meet someone who grew up with muggles! Is it true that-” James stopped himself abruptly. “Sorry, that was rude. I get a bit over excited when I meet new people.”

“Um, I’m Romanichal,” replied Remus, uncertainly. James’ face looked blank. “You know, like the travellers? Mum says we originally came from India though.”

“So you are a muggleborn! What do you mean, traveller? Do muggles often travel?”

“Oh, uh, actually my dad is a wizard, but I live with my mum who isn’t magical. Most muggles stay in one place, and they don’t like those of us who live a nomadic lifestyle. I don’t really understand why but they think we are all dirty and steal things.” 

Remus wasn’t sure why he was telling this boy all of this when they had only just met. He hadn’t even decided whether to even share his heritage with his new classmates. His father had suggested it was a chance for a clean start, and it wasn’t like it was the only thing he would be hiding. But this James guy seemed friendly enough, and he hadn’t even known what a traveller was! He certainly looked more curious than prejudiced.

“That sounds really cool! It sucks that people are prejudiced though. Some of the pureblood families look down on us Potters even though we’re purebloods too. What’s your name by the way?”

“Oh, uh, it’s Remus. Remus Lupin.” How could he have forgotten to introduce himself? And what was the sacred 28? Despite James’ friendly and cheerful demeanour, Remus was starting to feel even more out of place than before. He was about to ask James if there were many students at Hogwarts that came from non-magical backgrounds when the doors to the compartment slid open again.

A slightly familiar looking boy peered in, which was ridiculous given that Remus definitely did not know anyone on the train yet except maybe for James. The newcomer was a little out of breath and looked at James with a slightly worried expression that seemed to manage to also give off the air of daring him to say something.

"I'm Sirius," the new boy said quickly, grey eyes still staring intently at James. "Can I join you? I'm trying to avoid my cousins."

"Um, sure," Remus stuttered, at the same time as James opened his mouth to ask "Do I know you?"

"No, you don't." replied Sirius quickly, "You might know my cousins though. Us Blacks all look pretty similar what with all the inbreeding. I'm guessing you must be James Potter, although you'd think you'd have had access to all the hair styling products you needed if you were so maybe not." At this both SIrius and James grinned sheepishly at each other and the tension in the air seemed to disappear somewhat.

"Haha, this mop is pretty untameable, but the ladies like a bad boy." grinned James, seemingly unaware that he was a somewhat gangly eleven year old. "This is Remus, his mum is a muggle!"

"Nice!" exclaimed Sirius, "Do you know any muggle rock? I loooove Led Zeppelin and The Who!"

James looked surprised at this but quickly joined in the conversation. "I don't know many, but Pink Floyd are really good."

"Oh, I uh... don't listen to much music.. my mum really likes Deep Purple?"

"Wow, your mum sounds awesome! Muggle music is incredible, I can't believe you don't listen to any... Say, what house do you think you'll be in? I'm gonna be in Gryffindor!" Sirius seemed to jump from one topic to another as though they were hopscotch squares and he was trying to win some competition none of the rest of them knew about.

"Gryffindor too, my whole family is in there," replied James easily. "I think you'd be the first Black to be a Gryffindor though..."

"So I guess I'll just have to be the first." replied Sirius sharply. The slightly guarded expression and challenging look in his eyes were back, as though he was expecting James to argue with him. "Remus, what about you? Or are you a mud...muggleborn? We could explain if you want."

"Oh, uh, no. My dad is a wizard. He thinks I'll be in Ravenclaw like he was, but I think Hufflepuff sounds more like me. My mum reckons I would fit in Gryffindor but she's a muggle and I'm not so sure I would..." 

Remus ground to a halt, suddenly aware of how much he had spoken and how little the other two boys probably cared. It sounded like he wouldn't be in their house anyway, and he'd already shown himself to be really uncool when they had been talking about music. Why on earth would they care what his parents thought? He could have just said he didn't know. A horrible thought occurred to him, and more words spilled unbidden from his mouth.

"What... what happens if you don't fit in any of the houses? Do you get sent home?"

James looked at him, suddenly much more seriously. "That doesn't happen. Sometimes there are hat stalls but that's just because you have qualities from more than one house. You're a wizard, so you will be educated at Hogwarts unless they expell you."

"Besides," added Sirius, earning himself a glare from James, "They probably just stick all the odd ones out in Hufflepuff."

Still feeling incredibly nervous, Remus leant back in his seat and gazed out the window. James seemed to have caught on to his unease, and gave him a gentle punch in the upper arm. 

"Hey, don't listen to him. There might be people who tell you you don't belong because of your blood status but they are all bigots my dad says. You wouldn't have gotten a letter if you didn't deserve to come to Hogwarts, and they have never made a mistake yet. And anyway, no matter what house you're in I'm sure we'll have classes together, and you'll always have me as a friend."

Shyly, Remus met his smile and nodded. Reaching into his bag he pulled out the food his mum had packed for him and his smile widened as he felt that there were not one but two Cadbury Dairy Milk bars tucked beside the sandwich. Reaching a quick decision, he held one of them out to each of the other boys in the carriage. 

"Muggle chocolate? Wow, thank you!" said James as he tore into the packaging.

"Oh, um, thank you." muttered Sirius. "I was being a dick. It's no excuse but I wasn't brought up in the most openminded of families. Feel free to give me a kick if I'm ever being a prat."

"Pretty sure he'd be kicking your aristocratic arse constantly if he took you up on that one." grinned James. "What is an heir of the most ancient and noble house of Black doing in a carriage with a Potter and a halfblood anyway?"

"My family and I don't agree on a lot of things. Nothing causes a bigger fight than when they are trying to find a suitable match for me to produce the next generation of inbred snobs. Mother is always going on about there being more than one way in which one has to ensure the bloodline remains pure and you definitely don't..." Sirius stopped himself abruptly. "Well it's not like I would be paired with you anyway but like... I guess if you had a sister you'd be right in thinking she wouldn't be considered eligible. But I'm not like that, and I think me being in Gryffindor might give her more than enough to squark over for at least a few months. I can pick my own friends."

"I guess you're not wrong that you being sorted into anything but Slytherin would cause a bit of a stir."

Remus closed his eyes as the other two continued chatting, and drifted into an uneasy sleep. There was so much he didn't know, and his father had definitely been surprised when his Hogwarts letter had arrived. Despite James' reassurances he couldn't help but feel there had been some terrible mistake - even if he was a wizard he hadn't been able to find any record of a werewolf attending Hogwarts before and he didn't understand half of what the other two were on about. Hopefully they'd realise the mistake before he was actually in the sorting ceremony and he could just leave quietly before many people even noticed he was there.


	2. Sorting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I will try and be more regular with my updates, but life has been very chaotic recently. Hope you enjoy and please leave a comment if you want to, they really help me when I'm writing :)

It felt as though Remus had only just shut his eyes when James shook him awake, causing Remus flinch as though he had touched some unhealed cut despite the fact that the last full moon was over three weeks ago. But sure enough, the train had stopped and they had arrived somewhere called Hogsmeade. The train was full of the noise of excited children and teenagers, as they all flooded into the carriage corridors in an attempt to be the first to disembark. Despite his earlier fears, Remus couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as James hurried the three of them towards the exit. 

The excitement turned to wonder as the sight of the most enormous man Remus had ever seen greeted them and herded the first years towards small boats that were moored at the edge of an enormous lake lit up by the waxing gibbous moon which seemed to hang particularly close in the sky that night. Remus, James and Sirius ended up in a boat with a pretty red headed girl and her rather sallow and sullen companion. She introduced herself as Lily, and whispered to Remus that she had two muggle parents. It was reassuring to hear that he wasn't the only one not knowing much about what to expect at this new school, although she seemed to have done a lot more preparatory reading than he had. Apparently students would be sorted using a magical hat, which meant that the hat stall comments the other boys had made earlier suddenly made a lot more sense. Remus was very relieved that there didn't seem to be any tests of physical or magical ability, but the fear that the hat would decide he didn't deserve to be here grew the closer their boat got to the awe inspiring castle on the other side.

Before he knew it, Remus was getting helped out of the boat by a grinning James, and he looked back to realise that the boats were returning across the lake with no one to propel or steer them. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't even noticed that they sailed themselves! The giant man (Hagrid, according to James) knocked loudly on the enormous wooden doors and Remus realised with a shock that this rather imposing castle had to be the school. It was certainly unlike any other school he'd been to, and he'd been to many, but then he supposed none of them had been magic schools. This looked like the sort of school that you paid tens of thousands of pounds a term to attend, safe in the knowledge that your classmates would one day be ministers of state. The feeling of not belonging only intensified, and Remus began to feel quite ill. 

He stumbled through the doors towards a rather stern looking woman who surveyed the new first years shrewdly before explaining about the hat. Remus was too anxious to listen by this point and was very glad Lily had told him the basics on the boat trip over. He followed the huddle of eleven year olds to the front of the hall, trying to ignore the excited whispers around him. When the worn and fraying hat on the stool in front of them began to sing, Remus couldn't hear what it was saying over the thudding in his ears and the screaming voice inside him telling him that this couldn't possibly be real. I mean sure, he turned into a wolf on a monthly basis, but this was just ridiculous!

The hat fell silent and a hush grew in the hall as the stern woman from earlier introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and announced that the sorting ceremony would now begin. She was going to call students' names in alphabetical order and then they would sit in front of the entire school to be sorted. Remus had never been so glad that his surname began with an L.

"Abbott, Ernest."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the far right erupted into cheers as the small boy hurried over to them, nearly forgetting to remove his hat. Beside him, Remus could feel Sirius starting to tense.

"Black, Sa-" McGonagall started, before startling to a stop as Sirius ran forward and jammed the hat on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" roared the hat, and the room burst into feverish murmuring. Sirius headed to the surprised table bedecked in red and gold with a massive grin on his face, whilst many of the students sat on the green and silver table whispered to each other angrily. It seemed as though this had been a shock to the entire room, and even McGonagall and the man Remus knew to be Professor Dumbledore looked surprised. Nevertheless the ceremony continued and Lily was sorted into Gryffindor too, much to her companions displeasure.

All too soon it was time for Longbottom, Frank (another Gryffindor) and Remus' heart felt as though it was going to burst out his chest at the thought that he would likely be next. 

"Lupin, Remus."

The sorting ceremony had been going for some time now and a lot of the students watching had lost interest and were talking to the new housemates that had recently joined them. This should have taken the pressure off Remus slightly, but as he sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat over his head he looked out to see the most spectacular and peculiar sight he had ever seen. The hall was enormous and lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair and dotted amongst the students were ghosts shining a sort of misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Remus looked upward and saw that instead of the gothic arches he had expected, the ceiling was dotted with stars partially covered by clouds. A small voice spoke in his ear, startling him out of his reverie. 

"Hmm, interesting. Very interesting. But, I think one thing is clear, you will find your home in GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word had been shouted out to the audience and Remus stumbled towards an ecstatic Sirius who clapped him on the back and ruffled his hair. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur as James joined them on the Gryffindor tables and Lily's pale sulky friend was sorted into Slytherin. A short speech from the headmaster later and the tables were suddenly full of more food than Remus thought he had ever seen in his life. He was suddenly painfully aware just how hungry he was, having given his chocolate away on the train and began piling his plate high with kidney pie and mashed potatoes. He had only taken a few bites however, when McGonagall appeared behind him almost causing him to choke.

"Mr Lupin, Mr Black, if you could follow me please. There are a few arrangements that still need to be made."

Remus sent a panicked look to Sirius who for the first time looked as terrified as Remus himself felt. Had the hat made a mistake? Were they going to send him home? Part of him felt dreadful for doing so, but he tried to reassure himself with the fact that Sirius had been pulled aside too, and he was a pureblooded wizard who as far as Remus knew didn't have the slight issue that he turned into a wolf every full moon. Drawing curious eyes from all four tables, the two boys silently followed McGonagall through a small exit at the side of the hall. 

"Mr Lupin, if you could just wait here. I only need Mr Black for a few minutes and then I will send him back to the feast before I deal with you." With that she turned and ushered Sirius into a small office before turning round and conjuring a plate of sandwiches as though it was an after thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, my other fic can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13299858/chapters/30438444


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, updates should be more regular from now on! More notes at the end :)

True to Professor McGonagall’s word, she only spoke to Sirius for a few minutes before he exited her office with an enormous grin lighting up his pale face. Remus smiled back at him, but the knot of worry in his stomach didn’t ease. He tapped his foot anxiously as he waited for McGonagall to call him in. The sandwiches sat untouched, his hunger from earlier having totally disappeared. 

After what was probably only a matter of minutes, but felt like a lifetime, the door creaked open again and the professor beckoned Remus in. 

“Sit down please, Mr Lupin. I do apologise that you are missing the start of term feast, but with the full moon on Sunday I thought it best that I explain the arrangements to you as soon as possible. The headmaster has arranged a safe place for you to transform, which can be accessed by a secret passageway hidden on the school grounds. You may have noticed the Whomping Willow? It’s a rather new installation but it covers the passageway to the shack very well, and only those in the know will be able to get past it in order to access the tunnel. Would you like to see the shack before your transformation? I am sure we could arrange for Hagrid to accompany you to visit tomorrow after your lessons.”

Remus shook his head, it would already be difficult to explain his monthly disappearances without adding more. Whatever this shack was going to be like, he was sure Professor Dumbledore would have made sure it was secure, and it wasn’t like he’d be in any state to appreciate the interior design for most of the time he would be there. 

“Very well. Madame Pomfrey, our school nurse, will be there to collect you on Monday morning, and tend to any wounds you may have obtained during the night. I have arranged for the professors whose lessons you will be missing to send the work to the hospital wing. If you have any issues completing it, either speak to them directly or you can ask me as your head of house to arrange remedial sessions or help from older students.”

Remus nodded silently. Apparently this was really happening then.

“Well, that should be it, unless you have any questions Mr Lupin?” When he didn’t respond, she smiled at him and added. “You may as well go back to the Great Hall now, they’ll just be finishing dessert and the prefects will show you to the common room. Welcome to Hogwarts, and welcome to Gryffindor.”

He felt stunned as he left the office, not really able to process that not only was he at a wizard school, and in the house of the brave, but he seemed to be welcome and wanted. As he slid back into his seat between Sirius and James, he allowed himself a smile. Most of the students had finished their food, but he grabbed a portion of chocolate pudding, reasoning that since the plates had appeared from thin air they probably hadn’t been used by anyone else. He was suddenly starving again, and his plate and cutlery were still in his trunk, wherever that was.

Sirius leant over and and grabbed a spoonful of pudding from Remus’ plate. “Everything alright with Minnie?” Remus looked at him blankly “McGonagall, I mean.”  
“Oh, um, yes, she just wanted to make sure I was alright with settling in and cultural things.” Remus said quickly. Luckily two older students stood up as he was speaking and introduced themselves as Sionainn and Caradoc, the two Gryffindor prefects. They lead the new students up countless staircases and past paintings which moved and spoke to or about them as they walked past. Finally the group of bewildered first years stopped abruptly in front of an enormous portrait of a rather large lady holding a wine glass, surrounded by vines of grapes. 

“Password?” she enquired.

“Domum Fortis.” replied Sionainn confidently, and the portrait swung backwards to reveal a round room decorated in warm reds and golds. To their left, a roaring fire was surrounded by large sofas and to their right were small tables which were furnished by both hard, dining style chairs, and upholstered armchairs. Remus supposed that they would probably be used to complete homework, or play boardgames, if that was something that wizard’s did. There were also two spiral staircases on opposite sides of the room which Sionainn was pointing out to them. “Boys, follow Caradoc and he’ll show you to your dorms. Girls, come with me.”

Four girls followed her with varying degrees of excitement, leaving Remus, James, Sirius and three boys he hadn’t met yet with Caradoc. They traipsed after him in single file up the spiral staircase. Through a large wooden door on was a room with six four-poster beds, complete with red and gold drapes. Gryffindor pride was clearly the only inspiration for interior decoration. Other than the beds, there were two desks by the windows, and a few chests of drawers between the beds. It looked as though an extra bed or two had been hurriedly squeezed in, and there wasn’t that much space between their enormous frames. 

“So uh, this is your dorm, and where you’ll stay for the next seven years,” Caradoc said, yawning. “The bathroom is just through that door over there. Unless you’ve got any questions, I’m going to head to bed myself.”

Greeted with silence from the first years, he turned and left. The boys looked at eachother. 

“Guess we should calls dibs on beds?” suggested James.

“Oh, can I have the bed nearest the bathroom,” mumbled a small mousy blond boy.

“Uh, sure?” replied James.

“I’ll take this one by the window.” said Sirius quickly, “Remus and James, you should take the ones either side!”

“Guess that leaves you two to fight over those over there?” said James apologetically at the remaining boys. “Frank and... “ he paused, waiting for the other boy to introduce himself.

“I’m Dorian,” the boy said, a gap toothed smile gracing his dark features. “And the other boy is Peter, but I think he went to the toilet. He’s been doing that a lot.”  
“Wait, you know each other?” Remus asked.

“Yeah, Frank and I have met before, we’re both purebloods. I would have thought I’d have met Sirius, but then again the Blacks are somewhat…”

“Full of themselves?” interjected Sirius.

“I mean, you said it.” replied James with a smirk. “Hey, why don’t we unpack, and then I think I have some exploding snap cards so we can get to know each other.”

The boys set about unloading their suitcases, storing their new uniforms and other clothes in the drawers under their bed. Remus folded his jumpers carefully, but wasn’t unaware that neither Sirius nor James seemed to have similar clothes. In fact, Sirius didn’t seem to unpack many clothes at all, and James’ clothes looked as though they would fit in at a medieval reenactment. Once he was done with his clothes, he carefully placed two books on his bedside table, and walked over to the bathroom with his plate, cutlery and cup. His mother had lovingly packed them for him, but to his despair he saw that not only were the showers inside (which he had braced himself for) but they were communal. There were two sinks, but given that they would be shared between six boys Remus didn’t suppose he could ask that one be kept for dishwashing, especially when none of the other boys would use it for that purpose. He considered going to the toilet, as he hadn’t since the morning but the sense that it would be mochadi was too strong. Hopefully there would be some facilities outside, though he knew from staying with his father that that may be wishful thinking. 

Wandering back into the main bedroom, Remus climbed onto the bed and drew the curtains. He could hear the other boys starting up a game of cards, but he didn’t want to join them. Everything felt a little bit too strange and unfamiliar and despite the fact he’d used indoor toilets before, it just felt unclean. He held the cup tightly in his hands and wished more than anything that his mother could be there. Or maybe more accurately, that he was at home with her, wrapped in her warm embrace. Remus tried to steel himself, after all, his mother had been so proud when the Hogwarts letter had arrived for him. She’d been so worried that he wouldn’t be accepted, and contrary to many others in their community had always valued education. He owed it to her to keep trying. Maybe he would write a letter tomorrow, and ask her what to do about the cleanliness issue. It wasn’t that he thought the other boys were dirty, but the rituals were ingrained into him, and he couldn’t bring himself to contradict them. Ironically perhaps, this was causing him to go to bed without washing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to comment, I enjoy reading what you think :)
> 
> At the end Remus is referring to the cleanliness rituals that Romanichal's follow. Contrary to the prejudicial belief that rromani people are unclean they actually follow strict rules to do with hygiene:
> 
> \- Rromani people never share cups, plates or cutlery with anybody else (not even their own husbands or wives). All items are washed in running water, and then soaked in a separate bowl of boiled water and then washed again.  
>  \- The upper body is viewed as clean and the lower body is dirty, so shirts and other upper-body clothes are washed separately from lower-body garments. Many will not do their laundry inside, especially not underwear.  
>  \- Toilets or showers inside are considered unclean, or 'mochadi'.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Remus woke early, stomach filled with butterflies but with a new sense of purpose. He would write a letter to his mum, then make sure to have a good breakfast before his first classes. They hadn't received their timetables yet, but he guessed that they would either be told where to go at breakfast, or be lead there by the prefects again. Hurriedly slipping into his robes, he brushed his teeth whilst attempting to tie his cloak, which only resulted in him getting toothpaste down his front. He dabbed at it frantically as he hurried down the stairs to the common room, but knew with a sinking feeling in his stomach that it would most likely stain.

It was only when Remus reached the bottom of the spiral stairs that he realised that he had no idea where the owlery was. His father had told him that Hogwarts had owls for students to borrow, but they could be anywhere in the castle. Sighing, he decided to write the letter anyway, and ask one of the older students later. They'd probably think he was a pathetic mummy's boy but would they really be that wrong?

Letter complete, Remus headed in the direction he thought was where they'd come from the night before. Hopefully he would at least be able to find the Great Hall. As he hurried down the stairs he let out a shriek. The step he had just placed his foot on had disappeared, and now he was stuck!

"Oh my god, are you ok?" an American voice called out.

Embarrassed, Remus tried to make his reply sound as calm as possible, but it came out squeaky and shaken. "Uh, yeah... I uh.. the step..."

He heard footsteps and a tall girl with tightly plaited hair appeared.

"Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph. You really are stuck! Here, let me help you out. I'm guessing you're in Gryffindor too? I think I remember you from last night. My name's Marlene."

Remus stared blankly for a beat too long before realising that he was meant to introduce himself. "I'm, uh, Remus?" he ventured.

"Nice to meet you Remus! I'm on my way to breakfast if you want to come on a little adventure with me."

"I guess if I'm going to get lost on my first day of school, I may as well get lost with someone else." To Remus' relief Marlene laughed, and began to tug him free. "I thought that the Americans had their own wizarding school though?"

"Oh yeah, they do. But my dad's Irish. And like, I'm Wampanoag and they use one of our folk creatures as a house name, which just doesn't feel right. Plus, the elders are not keen on the concept boarding schools, for obvious reasons. I'm only really here because Da wanted me to give it a try and he's been awful sad since Ma died."

"Oh." Remus didn't know quite what to say. He thought that he might have read somewhere that the Wampanoag were Native Americans, but he wasn't sure what the "obvious reasons" to dislike boarding schools were. Still, if the school was as multicultural as it seemed, maybe people wouldn't be as confused or distrustful of him adhering to Romanichal customs. 

After what seemed like an hour but was probably ten minutes of following Marlene as she chatted away, they arrived in the Great Hall. An amazing spread was set out on the tables, but to Remus' dismay the plates were placed in piles in regular intervals along the tables. He'd forgotten to bring his cup and bowl with him, and he wouldn't have last night's excuse that the plates had appeared from thin air and so probably hadn't been used by anyone else. 

Marlene must have noticed his sudden hesitence as she turned around with a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong? We managed to find it with almost no problem, but you look like a goat just headbutted you in the stomach."

"Oh it's just that um, I'm Romanichal. We think that it's mochadi, or unclean, to use plates or cutlery that someone else has used. I left mine upstairs by mistake." Remus wasn't sure why he was explaining this to a random girl he'd just met and braced himself for the slurs that normally followed someone finding out his background.

"Oh," Marlene paused, looking thoughtful. "Could you perhaps eat from a napkin today? That way, it's not someone else's plate?"

Remus looked at her in shock. Never had someone who wasn't part of his community offered a solution to his discomfort that hadn't involved just telling him to get on with it. 

"Hey, there's no need to look like that. I think both of us know what it's like to come from a minority group which is misunderstood at best and generally shat on from a great height by the majority."

Remus snorted at her turn of phrase, even though what she'd just said wasn't really funny. But Marlene grinned back at him, and they headed towards the Gryffindor table to see what there was to eat. When they sat down, a small owl swooped by and deposited two pieces of paper in front of them. Curious, Remus picked one up and saw that it was a timetable, written in the same neat script as his acceptance letter. Scanning across to Thursday he saw that his first class was History of Magic with Slytherin house, taught by a Professor Binns. He'd always liked history at school, so hopefully this would be similar. 

He'd just finished his bread roll when James and Sirius tumbled into the hall, an out of breath Peter following behind them.

"Remus!" cried James. "We didn't know where you'd gone!"

"Guess I was hungry since you ate my snacks." Remus quipped back, surprised at his own willingness to join in the banter. "Plus I kinda wanted to send a letter, but I didn't know where the owlery was."

"Oh, you can borrow my owl any time," said James easily. "She's friendly if you remember to give her a treat to say thank you, but she might nip your fingers if you forget."

As James and Sirius took their seats the same small owl deposited two timetables in front of them. 

"Urgh, Binns? Mum and dad said he was deathly boring." James chuckled to himself. "You know, cos he's a ghost?"

"Oh yeah, I've heard of him," added Sirius. "Died but still turned up to teach his next class. Bet he been around through half of what we have to learn."

Remus looked to Marlene, unsure if this was some kind of joke. A ghost? Teaching? He knew they existed in the wizarding world but the idea of one of his professors being dead seemed... beyond weird. She just looked as shocked as he felt.

"It's true, you know." A voice piped up from behind him. "I read it in Hogwarts, a History."

Remus turned around to see who had spoken. It was the redheaded girl from last night. She had the most startlingly green eyes, which felt as though they pierced into his very soul. Before any of them could say anymore, Sionainn appeared and called out that all first year Gryffindors should follow her. As they trailed through seemingly endless corridors, Remus felt sure he would never know his way around the castle. Still, they eventually arrived at the classroom, and to Remus' surprise, James patted the desk next to him and gestured that he should sit there. Sirius sat the other side of him. At the back of his mind, he heard his dad's voice warning him not to get close to anyone in case they discovered his secret, but he liked this new feeling of having friends too much to care in that moment. Smiling to himself, he set out his textbook, quill and parchment on the desk and looked at the other students arriving.

The Slytherin students wore the same robes as he did, but with a green and silver trim where they had red and gold. Remus didn't think he was imagining the snooty looks on their faces as they surveyed the Gryffindors. He also didn't think he was imagining the way Sirius' shoulders stiffened as the Slytherins filed into the classroom. Remus thought about trying to distract Sirius, but got distracted himself as a ghost floated past him and stationed himself at the front, surveying the class. 

"Good morning everyone, settle down please. Turn to page 3 of your textbook and please try to follow along. Now, history of magic is a very broad subject and..."

Try as he might, Remus found it increasingly difficult to pay attention to the old ghost's drone. He tried to keep taking notes, hoping the action would counteract the sophorific effect of Professor Binns voice, but the restless night was catching up with him and his eye lids were drooping further and further every time he blinked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is tomorrow and the Sundays at midday (GMT).
> 
> P.S. Don't worry, I know Lily isn't Hermione. But I do think she'd have read Hogwarts, A History.


	5. Chapter 5

Just as Remus was about to lose his battle with sleep, something hit his right ear. Startled, he immediately sat up straight, causing the Slytherin student behind him to snigger. Looking at his lap he saw what had hit him - it was a screwed up note from James.

'Told you Binns would be dead boring, sleepy head. Do you wanna go to the owlery in the break after Magical Theory? I think it's pretty near the Charms classroom and I need to send a letter to my parents too.'

When he'd finished reading, Remus looked up and nodded at James. He couldn't help himself from smiling, and started to scribble a response when something hit his other ear. This time, it was Sirius throwing a note at him.

'Urgh this is soooo boring. Why couldn't he be teaching us about Merlin or someone exciting? I couldn't care less about the goblin wars of 17-whatever.'

Remus tried to find it in him to disagree, but Sirius was right. Professor Binns had managed to make one of the subjects he had been looking forward to most into a snoozefest. Passing Sirius' note to James, he shook himself and attempted to catch up with the lesson. It seemed that they were still only halfway down the first page of the textbook, which Remus could have sworn Professor Binns was just reading to them incredibly slowly. A balled up piece of parchment sailed past his nose and landed on Sirius' desk. Despite himself, Remus turned to look over Sirius' shoulder as he unfurled the note and read it.

'Wanna make this a bit more fun? I have a whoopee cushion and some dungbombs at my disposal.'

Sirius was grinning at James and gesturing at the greasy haired boy they had met on the boats who Remus thought might have been called Severus. The next thing he knew, a loud farting sound ripped through the classroom accompanied by the most horrendous smell. All the students groaned and held their noses, but Professor Binns appeared not to notice, and continued droning on in his characteristic soporific manner. Glancing at the clock, Remus noted with growing horror that they still had twenty-five minutes of the lesson left. He tore off the bottom of his parchment and scribbled his own note: 'Good idea, could work on the timing.'

They just about survived the rest of the lesson and luckily for James people seemed to be blaming Severus and hadn't realised that the smell hadn't been caused by him. Caradoc was waiting outside for them when they finished, and wrinkled his nose when the stench hit him, but he didn't comment on it and Professor Binns still seemed blissfully unaware. They traipsed through the corridors and up what felt like a million stairs before arriving at the Magical Theory classroom.

As the Ravenclaws had arrived before the Gryffindor students, the boys hadn't been able to remain sitting together and Remus was seated between an anxious looking boy called Rupert, who had an ink stain on his nose, and a girl called Ashnoor, who was deep in conversation with the girl to her left. The classroom fell silent when the teacher, a Professor Abbott, arrived. She wore long robes similar to those that they were wearing, but in a rather majestic looking royal blue. Magical Theory, as the name suggested, was another lesson of reading the textbook, listening to the teacher, and taking notes. Thankfully however, Professor Abbott was slightly more engaging, and Remus had no issues staying awake.

The lesson passed largely without incident, although Remus did notice the disparity between the rather lost looking muggleborn students and the pureblood students who seemed to know all the answers. He didn't think he was projecting the somewhat snooty vibes he felt from them, although the room had a much friendlier atmosphere than when they had been taught with the Slytherins. When the clock chimed to let them know that break was starting, James pulled Remus with him up and up a spiral staircase until they reached the owlery at the very top of the tower.

"Here," panted James, "This is my owl, Athena." He held out his arm and a large tawny owl with amber eyes landed on it. "Normally you can use her whenever you want but I've got to send a letter today to reassure my parents I haven't been expelled yet. The school owls are over there, you can use any of them. Here, have a treat for yours."

Remus laughed at James' reasoning and cautiously approached the owls perched over by the far wall. He was glad that James had given him a treat because up close they looked somewhat menacing. A scratch from those claws would really hurt. Holding the treat out in a shaky hand he advanced forwards, and the barn owl nearest him stuck it's head out and nibbled suspiciously at the treat.

"That's it," said James. "Now just tie the letter to his leg, he'll know what you're doing."

It felt strange, using an owl to send post, but his mum had reassured him that they would be able to find her wherever she was. Not that Remus thought they'd have moved on already but he would have to get used to using owls eventually. Plus, he was pretty sure that Hogwarts didn't have a post box on it's grounds.

Letters sent, they ran back down the stairs and through the maze of corridors to find the Charms classroom which was definitely **not** near the owlery. They had shared their Charms lessons with the Hufflepuff first years, who were waiting outside the classroom with the Gryffindors. Sliding in near Peter and Sirius, they introduced themselves to Mary and Paul who had been chatting with their friends. Mary was a small blonde girl, but Remus felt immediately that he should watch out to never cross her, friendly as she seemed. There was a strength of steel hiding behind her eyes. When Professor Flitwick arrived, the students filed into the classroom, which had a rather different layout to the two that they'd been in earlier that morning.

The desks were arranged in a U-shape, facing a raised platform which Professor Flitwick occupied. This seemed to be necessary because Remus had never seen such a small man before. In front of each stool there was a large feather resting on the desk. Remus sat between Peter and Sirius, who was next to James, but all in all the two houses seemed to have mixed more than they had in any other class. Maybe it was because they had both been waiting outside together. Once everyone had settled into their seats, Professor Flitwick cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Today we are going to be learning a basic levitation charm. Before any of you attempt it, I want you to listen carefully and watch me." With a quick flick of the professor's wand, Peter's feather flew towards the tiny man who placed it carefully on the pile of books next to him. "Now, the movement for this one is quite simple: swish and flick. Everybody, copy me now, swish and flick."

Professor Flitwick hopped off his little platform and came round to examine each student's gestures, correcting and praising as he went along.

"We're actually going to do real magic!" whispered Peter to Remus, who could barely contain his own excitement even if he was full of nerves that he wouldn't be able to do it and he'd be sent home.

When Professor Flitwick had finished his tour of the classroom, he cleared his throat again to dispell the light chatter that had built up amongst the students.

"Please put your wands down now, and we'll practise the incantation. This is very important to get right, or something unexpected may happen. You don't want to be like Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest! Now, after me, _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

They repeated this phrase back to him a few times before he seemed satisfied. After demonstrating the spell on Peter's feather, he returned it and announced: "Alright, then, you can have a go for yourselves now. Remember; swish and flick!"

Remus' first attempt caused his feather to wiggle slightly, although that could have just been the breeze from the open window. Certainly, his second, third and even sixth attempts bore no fruit at all, and he'd nearly given up when suddenly his feather started to rise.

"Well done, Mr Lupin! Excellent work!" the professor exclaimed in his squeaky voice, and Remus felt the eyes of the class fall upon him. He shifted uncomfortably under all the attention, but fortunately for him Sirius almost immediately caused a distraction by _wingardium leviosa_ -ing his feather right up James nostril, causing him to let out a mighty sneeze and the whole classroom to erupt into fits of laughter.

Luckily, Professor Flitwick intervened before James could retaliate and Remus spent the rest of the lesson practising his own charm and helping Peter, who seemed to have a bit of difficulty with the pronounciation of _leviosa_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update on Sunday at midday (GMT)!
> 
> I'm wondering what people think about me writing from different perspectives - on the one hand I have only written from Remus' POV so far, but I feel maybe writing from the other marauders POV might add something. Or do you think it will lose the depth? Idk, comment with opinions.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's several hours late, I got called into work early. 
> 
> When I know my shift patterns a bit more accurately I may change this to update either earlier or later in the day, depending which is more suitable.

Lunch posed the same problem as breakfast. The bowls were stacked on the table. Remus supposed it was because people were coming in and out, rather than all sitting and eating at the same time. But, unlike this morning, he couldn’t just pick up some toast in a napkin. It was soup. He supposed he could at least eat a bread roll, but the whole situation soured his good mood from Charms. He could see Marlene glancing at him from across the table, and his cheeks started to redden.

“Everything alright, Mr Lupin? Do you not like the soup?” Professor McGonagall asked. She had walked up behind him, and her questions almost made him jump out of his skin in shock.

“Oh, um, I like soup,” he mumbled “It’s just I’m not-”

“His culture means he can’t use plates that someone else has used.” Marlene had somehow jumped across the table.

“Is this true, Mr Lupin?”

“I mean yeah, but it’s ok. I brought my own crockery with me, I can go and get it from the dormitory before supper.”

McGonagall peered at him over her glasses. “Would it help if I taught you a cleaning charm? Professor Flitwick tells me you mastered wingardium leviosa very quickly, and it would make carrying crockery around much esaier.”

“Yes please, professor, if you don’t mind.” Remus couldn’t help smiling. He’d initially been a bit annoyed with Marlene for sharing information with McGonagall without asking, but the outcome was better than anything he could have imagined. The scourgify spell would make everything a lot easier!

\--

After Remus had run back upstairs to grab his bowl, James turned to Sirius. It was strange really. The Potters hadn’t socialised much with the Black family, due to their ideals of racial as well as blood purity, but it was hard not to be aware of them. And from what he knew, there were three sisters who were of Hogwarts age (although maybe one of them might have graduated by now) and then two younger cousins. A girl and a boy. And this was the thing, James could have sworn that the girl was the older of the two, and the one who was in the same school year as him. But here was Sirius, which was a name he didn’t recognise, and most definitely in his year. And in Gryffindor. James didn’t think he was prejudiced at all but he’d never heard of a Black in Gryffindor. It just wasn’t what they stood for. Maybe his mum and dad would be able to shed some light on the situation when they replied to his letter. Adults tended to know that sort of stuff.

“Hey, Sirius, do you like quidditch? I know first years aren’t meant to play but I reckon I could sneak a couple of school brooms out of the stores and we could have a little game. I suppose Remus can’t fly but he could keep score.”  
“Oh,” said Sirius, turning pink. “I don’t know how to fly either. My parents said it was not eleg-... fitting behaviour for the heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black.”

“I can fly!” squeaked Peter, who had managed to take Remus’ spot. He’d arrived late after taking another trip to the loo. 

“And we have flying lessons on Wednesday, bet I’ll be a natural.”

James laughed. “If you can stay upright on the broom I guess we all have plans on Thursday evening then. Someone tell Remus when he gets back.” He paused. “Actually, don’t. Can you imagine his face if we all just turned up on brooms? We could take turns then so that there’s always someone to take score.”

“Sounds far out man.” drawled Sirius.

“Huh?” Peter looked confused.

“Muggle slang. Means like, totally cool or whatever.”

James laughed, but internally this only added to his confusion. Since when did members of the Black family know muggle slang? His thoughts were disturbed by the arrival of Remus, who sat next to the red haired girl from the boat. To his disappointment Remus began talking to her and another girl who James recognised as the one who had explained to Professor McGonagall why Remus wasn’t eating the soup. 

“Oi, Remus!” he called. Remus startled as a piece of bread hit him on the nose. James noticed he looked more scared than annoyed. “What you doing sitting with the girls? Don’t you know that boys have way more fun? We were just about to start planning an exploration!” James was relieved to see that Remus’ shoulders relaxed, although not all the way. 

“At least the girls have figured out how to shower!” Remus called back. The girls around him tittered and James felt his ears go pink. He especially didn’t like that ginger girl giggling at him, even if she did look really pretty with her freckles scrunched up in laughter lines. 

After lunch they had double Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was (other than flying) the lesson James had been looking forward to most. He couldn’t wait to be able to jinx the Slytherins! Unfortunately (or fortunately, if they got to practise on each other) Gryffindor first years shared the lesson with the Slytherins. Even though James had experienced their hostility in History of Magic that morning, he was surprised to notice now that a lot of it seemed to be directed at just one person. That person being Sirius. I mean sure, he was the first Black in Gryffindor for centuries if not ever, but weren’t the Blacks meant to be a venerated pureblood family? Surely that would ingratiate him with the Slytherins. Unless, maybe, they saw him as a traitor. James was pretty sure that that could be the only explanation. 

Much to his disappointment, the lesson was predominantly theory. Professor Burke had evidently decided that it would be foolish to let the pupils practise spells on eachother before they had learnt the basics of magic. Which James could concede was probably sensible but also totally boring. The first half of the double lesson involved learning about doxies and imps, and the second half consisted of writing an essay about how to identify deal with them. They had to finish it for homework, a whole 6 inches of parchment! James thought it was most unfair giving homework on the first day, and by the looks of it so did Sirius and Peter. Only Remus looked vaguely happy to have some work to do. 

\--

After the lesson had finished, Sirius ran off to the bathroom, telling the others that he’d meet them in study hall. He almost ran into the girls toilet without thinking, before remembering just in time that now he was at Hogwarts he could use the right ones without anyone thinking it was strange. Except maybe the Slytherins, and a few other purebloods. James hadn’t recognised him though, even if he had given him a bit of a scare on the train. Much to his surprise, Sirius started to feel more and more nervous as he walked to the end of the corridor where the entrance to the boys bathroom could be found. He’d never exactly been in a men’s toilet before, except that one time when he had been about six, and he hadn’t seen much before Kreacher had pulled him out by his ear. But he did remember that there had been strange contraptions on the wall. What would people think if he went in there and didn’t know how to… couldn’t use the… He couldn’t exactly go into the girl’s toilets dressed like this and besides, he didn’t want to.

“What would Neil Armstrong say?” he whispered to himself. “Just one small step for a man…” (Because the muggles had been to the moon! How wizards could think they were superior to that he would never know. It was hard enough to arrange portkeys to America for Merlin’s sake).

There were indeed some of the weird contraptions on the wall, and Sirius quickly kept his eyes on the floor once he saw how they were being used. It wasn’t that he’d been looking but… well. He couldn’t do that. To his relief there were two cubicles at the end of the room, containing toilets that looked far more familiar. Still, the whole experience left him feeling a little uncomfortable, and for the first time since he had been on the Hogwarts Express, he started to doubt that he would be able to pull this off. Usually, Sirius’ doubts were fleeting, but he almost walked into Narcissa on his way back to the Great Hall, and she’d hissed at him that his parents were furious, and that he was embarrassing the family. The two events combined meant that he was unusually quiet through study hall, something that the other Gryffindor boys noticed even though they’d only met him yesterday.

“Psst, what’s up?” whispered James.

“Nothing, I’m fine. Just… thinking.”

“Thinking ‘bout what? Cos it ain’t doxies.” replied James, nudging Sirius’ essay, which still only consisted of the three lines he had written in class.  
“Nothing. I’m fine.”

James seemed to drop it then, but Sirius had a nagging dread that he had only been granted a temporary reprieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment to let me know what you think! Who's POV do you enjoy? This chapter is unusual in having three, but I thought it might be nice to kind of introduce other POVs before jumping right in with a whole chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the incredibly long delay. I shall be resuming my normal posting schedule so expect an update on Sunday.

The next morning at breakfast James, Sirius and Remus all received letters. James was desperate to open his but a small, sensible (and often ignored) part of him insisted that he should wait until he was alone. Somehow he was pretty sure that Sirius wouldn’t appreciate him having gone behind his back to ask his parents about him. Next to him, Remus sighed with relief as he opened his envelope, whereas Sirius studiously ignored the thick parchment next to him. 

The first lesson of the day was double potions, which James thought he’d be pretty good at. After all, that’s what his family were famous for. Plus the idea of messing around with frogspawn and goodness knows what else just sounded like excellent fun and the perfect opportunity for some excellent pranks. The letter would have to wait but perhaps mischief wouldn’t. The greasy haired boy from the boat was hovering by the end of the Gryffindor table, talking to the pretty redhead… Evans, James was pretty sure. Though he didn’t know why, the boy’s presence irritated James to no end and he resolved to target him again in Potions.

To James’ delight when they arrived in the dungeons the classroom was set out with enough cauldrons for the students to work in pairs, situated next to small fires with purple flames. The walls were covered in large jars filled with flobberworms, and beetles, and tree bark, and all manner of ingredients. Despite having grown up the son of a famous potion maker, James didn’t have much experience with the art of brewing. For some reason Fleamont had never seen fit to allow him anywhere near a hot cauldron, let alone any of the more explosive ingredients. James couldn’t begin to imagine why. 

Impatiently, he grabbed Sirius’ arm and dragged him towards a desk in the second row. “Partners?” he enquired, belatedly, and Sirius nodded with a huge grin. Remus and Peter were paired up, as were Evans and the greasy boy, and it looked like Frank and Dorian were paired up too. A greying, portly professor surveyed the twenty-or-so youngsters in front of him, and looked pleased.

“Welcome, first years, to your first Potions class. I am Professor Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin House.”

James groaned internally. No doubt the old man would be biased towards his own students. That said, it reduced whatever guilt he may have had for planning to disrupt the lesson. Professor Slughorn continued to explain how they would be brewing a simple potion to cure boils, but that it was imperative that the instructions were followed to the letter. It was annoying, James thought, that Evans had had to pair up with the greasy tosser. That pretty much ruled out any tampering with their cauldron. Sirius went to collect their ingredients, and James approached the front to borrow a set of scales, and to maybe get a better look in some of the jars behind the professor’s desk.

“Potter, isn’t it?” said a voice to his left, and James definitely didn’t nearly jump out of his skin when he turned to see Professor Slughorn’s stomach. “Sleekeazy’s hair potion?”

“Um, yeah, that’s my dad’s company, sir.”  
“What a distinguished man. I was at school with him, you know?” Slughorn dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. “You must come to my little Slug Club meetings, they’re ever so fun and you’ll meet all sorts of interesting people.” 

Luckily for James, Slughorn got distracted by a large Slytherin girl with hair in two very tight plaits before he had to come up with an excuse for why he wouldn’t want to join some slimey club. Seriously, who would create a club and call it the Slug Club? Returning to his seat he surveyed the items Sirius had collected. The frogspawn looked too tempting, so he scooped some up and dropped it down Sirius’ back whilst he was facing the other way, talking to Peter or something. 

“Oi!” shrieked Sirius, “What in Merlin’s saggy underpants did you do that for?!” He clawed up some frogspawn and threw it straight in James’ face. Some stuck to his glasses, and he could have sworn some went into his mouth. He spluttered and tried to spit it out, turning around to bump into Professor Slughorn, who did not look amused. 

“That’s enough boys. Sit down, and I will be watching you closely as you make your potion with what remaining ingredients you have. Ten points from Gryffindor for that childish display.”

The rest of the lesson went without incident, as Slughorn was true to his word and watched the pair of them like a hawk. Their potion never quite turned the right colour, and they were assigned an essay to explain why that was. James thought that was pretty stupid - it was obvious, they just hadn’t put in enough frogspawn. What was more interesting was that Sirius’ hands hadn’t stopped shaking since Slughorn had rebuked them. They had a break before Transfiguration, and James couldn’t wait any longer to read the letter from his parents. He ran to the nearest bathroom, and sat on the toilet in the only stall. 

What he read astonished him, and it was only when someone started banging loudly on the door that he realised that he must have been there a while. He stood up quickly, and unlocked the door, ready to apologise to the whichever student had been waiting to use the loo. Instead, he was faced by a filthy man who was muttering something about hanging students from the dungeon ceiling. 

“Ah… Mr Potter,” the man croaked, “You had better come with me. Professor McGonagall has been… _worried_ about you. She’ll be wanting to punish you.” His pale bulging eyes gleamed with unbridled hatred. 

James had never met the man, but he’d heard tales of Mr Filch from older kids when they’d been at one of his parents’ parties. The fact that he’d been sent to find him must mean that he’d missed Transfiguration, which was taught by the Head of Gryffindor. If she really was angry with him, maybe she wouldn’t pick him for the quidditch team next year. That was inconceivable. He followed Filch through the corridors in silence, trying not to listen to the continued muttering about oiling chains to be used on students. His parents had never mentioned such punishments, so surely that couldn’t be what was in store for him.

Once Professor McGonagall had finished going on about how he really couldn’t be throwing frogspawn and missing class on his second day at Hogwarts, she paused and stared at James. “Mr Potter, are you listening to me? Have you anything to say for yourself?”

James blinked. He’d tuned out and was thinking again about what his parents had said about Sirius.

“Mr Potter?”

“Oh, I uh… I’m sorry Professor. I was reading a letter from my parents and I lost track of time.”

Professor McGonagall’s face softened slightly. “Is everything alright at home?”

“Oh um… yeah. Mum’s doing pretty well at the moment.”

“What then, was so compelling that you lost track of time so completely you completely missed my lesson? Masters Lupin, Pettigrew, and Black were most concerned.”

James was stumped. He couldn’t really say the real reason, his mum had been quite clear in stating that all of this was Sirius’ business and that a good friend wouldn’t gossip about it. But was it really gossip if you were talking to a teacher? 

“Um, she was just telling me about this uh… ancient Indian uh… thing… where they believed that gender was uh… not necessarily dictated by uh… anything… um… other than uh… what a person thinks? It was really important in uh… times long ago. Like… um… prakrti? Um… very interesting uh… history thing... “

Professor McGonagall stared at him again for a moment, and then, clearly deciding things, drew a chair and motioned for James to sit down.

“Have a biscuit Potter.” James blinked. That was not what he had been expecting. “I imagine that this may have something to do with Mr Black, am I correct?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Please check out my other fic here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13299858/chapters/30438444
> 
> I also took part in the RS Fix It Fest, which is anonymous but there's a tonne of amazing fic there which you should definitely check out! https://archiveofourown.org/collections/RS_Fix_It_Fest_2018
> 
> Sirius Black Fest is also posting at the moment, and I contributed to that as well. https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Sirius_Black_Fest_2018
> 
> Please comment below, I really appreciate you taking the time, it really encourages me. If you'd be interested in betaing for me (both my WIPs are currently unbetaed) then please let me know on kitgranger42 at gmail dot com.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I post the right chapter, and it's only a short one. Sorry :(

Sirius sat between Remus and Frank at lunch. There was still no sign of James, and he was starting to feel a little worried. Maybe he was being punished for their behaviour in Potions? Just losing house points had seemed a little anticlimactic.. but whilst James had started the frogspawn throwing, Sirius had been the one to actually throw it at his face so surely he should be there with him? Also, McGonagall didn’t seem to know where he was either. It was very strange indeed and Sirius’ brain started coming up with other possibilities… James had said that he was going to the toilet, so maybe something had happened there? Had one of the Slytherins jumped him? He was still shaken from his encounter with his cousin the day before, what if someone had decided to make sure James hated him too, or hurt him, or…

Before he realised he had even made a decision, Sirius was on his feet. He had to find James. He brushed past some first year Ravenclaws who seemed to be anxiously discussing the astronomy class they had later that evening, but didn’t stop to listen to what it was that was bothering them. Ignoring the butterflies that began to flutter in his chest, he stormed into the nearest bathroom, but there was no James. Abruptly, he turned around and hurried towards the toilets nearer the dungeons where they had had their lesson. He was just rounding the final corner when he nearly ran into an old man with bulging eyes who was clutching a rather mangy looking cat. 

“Watch where you’re going, you little bastard,” snarled the man.

Sirius barely glanced at him before yanking the door to the toilets open and rushing inside. They were weirdly empty, but he walked down to the end of the room anyway and pushed open the stall door. It too was empty, but there was a crumpled piece of parchment on the floor. Picking it up, Sirius was shocked to see that although it was addressed to James it was mostly written about him. He dropped the letter as though it was burning him, and flushed the toilet hurriedly. Maybe he hadn’t needed to worry about the Slytherins getting to James after all, James was probably just waiting for the right moment to use it against him. He’d been foolish to ever imagine that he’d be accepted by the Gryffindors. 

For the rest of the day, Sirius drifted through his lessons in a daze, choosing to sit with pretty much anyone but James. It was only after study hall that he was finally confronted by a rather confused Potter, who practically dragged him into their dormitory.

“What’re you doing?” Sirius hissed.

“What are _you_ doing? Why have you been avoiding me?” To his credit, Potter did look a little upset.

Sirius looked at him coldly. “The letter.”

“Letter? You… oh shit I left it in the toilets didn’t I… Did someone find it?”

“Well yeah. Me.” said Sirius shortly. This wasn’t exactly going how he’d thought it would. Potter seemed more worried than malicious.

“Oh, thank goodness. I’m so sorry that I was so stupid to leave it there… and sorry that I asked when it was none of my business.”

Sirius’ jaw dropped open. This really wasn’t going how he’d thought it would.

“Wait, so you uh, know? And you don’t mind?”

“I mean yeah? I guess it’s just another thing your parents are wrong about?” James attempted a small smile, as if he was willing everything to be okay. 

Sirius couldn’t help but laugh, a mixture of relief and disbelief flooding through him. Potter rushed forward and hugged him, knocking the air out of his lungs. 

“I won’t tell anyone, unless you want me to. And if anyone gives you any trouble they can answer to me!” he said fiercely.

Sirius was honestly stunned. A few minutes ago he’d thought that James was hoarding information to be used in blackmail or worse and now the other boy was offering to defend his honour? 

“You don’t think it’s weird? Or freakish?” he asked again.

“I mean, I don’t totally understand it… it’d be pretty bloody weird if I was a girl… not that you are just like... if it was me looking like me but I was a girl but no one knew and like… I think it’s pretty brave that you’re being you anyway? Like, my parents say that gender is something from inside, and they tend to be right about most things.”

Sirius felt like he could cry, but just then the dormitory door flew open and the other four boys tumbled in.

“Oh, did we interrupt an intimate moment?” sniggered Frank, “Sirius and James, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N-”

James and Sirius sprung apart, and Sirius hastily wiped his eyes. 

“Oh shit, sorry… I was only joking. I wouldn’t mind if you really were bent you know, one of my uncles is and…”

“Oh, no,” said Sirius quickly, “I just got some bad news from home is all. Why don’t we get in a few more rounds of exploding snap before Astronomy?” 

Thankfully, this seemed to distract the boys, although Sirius did hear James whispering to Frank later that neither of them were shirt-lifters, thank you very much. Not that it should matter if they were, of course, but they weren’t. And later in the evening, after Dorian had lost a few rounds in a row he declared that the game was gay, and they all laughed and switched to something else.  
Well, except for Remus, who sat on his bed reading a book. Sirius didn’t really know what he thought of Remus, but he couldn’t deny that the small and somewhat skittish boy intrigued him. And then there was the matter of all those scars. Sirius was no stranger to physical punishment, but his parents had never left marks where other people could see them… 

***

Remus sat on his bed, pretending to read. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but the lighthearted teasing about some of the others being gay or not had made a stone settle in his stomach and it wasn’t going away. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to Astronomy, the night sky had never exactly brought him wonder and joy. The weekend was looming too, when they wouldn’t have any scheduled activities, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do. And then it would be the full moon. All in all, not much to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments always appreciated, I'd love to hear what you think about the characters or story! 
> 
> Also please check out remuslupinfest.tumblr.com - I'm co-organising it and it promises to be a lot of fun, some of the prompts we've already received are fantastic.


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